'Noxious fumes' at Fairfield Warde High

Updated 10:24 pm, Friday, December 7, 2012

Photo: Steve Krauchick

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Fumes from chemicals mixed in a science lab at Fairfield Warde High School on Friday morning triggered a hazardous-materials response, but there was no serious fallout from the incident, officials said.

Fumes from chemicals mixed in a science lab at Fairfield Warde High School on Friday morning triggered a hazardous-materials response, but there was no serious fallout from the incident, officials said.

Photo: Steve Krauchick

'Noxious fumes' at Fairfield Warde High

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Staff reports

Fumes from chemicals mixed in a science lab at Fairfield Warde High School on Friday triggered a hazardous-materials response, but there was no serious fallout from the incident, officials said.

Responders were sent to the school after the town Emergency Communications Center received a call reporting that "a small quantity" of potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium iodide and benzoic acid may have combined during a routine classroom heating process, said Assistant Fire Chief Chris Tracy, shift commander on the scene.

The incident took place earlier in the morning, school officials said. Four students and a teacher were checked and released by the school nurse, after they complained of sore throats, officials said.

"Really, really routine things when you smell noxious fumes," Tracy said. "It could have been worse, but fortunately, it wasn't."

The teacher and students were checked by a paramedic on the scene before being released with the recommendation of follow-up visits with their personal doctors.

Precautionary measures by firefighters, including controlled entry and metering, found no contamination or chemical products in the lab, which had been aired out during the earlier class, Tracy said.